A Better Life
by calzonaislove
Summary: AU: When a deadly accident turns Callie's world upside down, she finds herself in the most unlikely of places to call home... chapter rating will go up in later chapters


**This is my first venture into C/A fanfic so all concrit is certainly welcome! This fic will be based on the novel/film Water For Elephants (which I highly recommend reading/watching) so some imagery and dialogue might reference the book/movie. It will also deal with some pretty difficult situations regarding animals in future chapters (which is very hard for me to write bc I LOVE animals...) so I just wanted to give a fair warning! This chapter is fairly short but the next chapters will be MUCH longer :)**

**Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.  
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**ENJOY!**

This was it; the final exam on her last day of vet school. To say she was excited was an understatement. She had worked her whole life to get where she was right in this moment. Ever since Callie was a little girl she had loved animals. She grew up with horses on her father's estate in Miami and when she was 6 years old, her favorite horse, Molly, stepped in a hole while running in the pasture and broke her leg. The vet, Dr. Grayson, told them the mare had to be put down, but Callie's childhood self couldn't grasp the fact that her daddy couldn't just simply fix what was broken. That was the day Callie knew she wanted to be a vet. Most children change their minds a thousand times before they actually know what they want to be, but not Callie. She was at the stables everyday helping out with the horses and while her mother wanted her to take ballet lessons and play the piano, her father was thrilled his daughter shared his passion for the magnificent animals. Whenever one of them got hurt, which thankfully wasn't that often, Callie was always the first to help the Dr. Grayson with the cleaning of the wound and subsequent bandaging.

One afternoon, when Callie was 17 and about to graduate, one of the mares got a little too rowdy in her stall and slammed her head against the wall right where a nail happened to be sticking out and ripped a nice chunk of flesh from her cheek. When Dr. Grayson arrived, Callie was there with the mare and after the wound was cleaned, he asked her if she wanted to have the honor of stitching Lucy up. Callie couldn't contain her excitement even if she wanted to, and after watching the vet for so many years, she knew she could throw in stitches in her sleep. Under the careful supervision of Dr. Grayson, Callie stitched her up methodically, as if she had been doing it for years, and as she put in the last stitch she felt more accomplished in 10 minutes than she had in 18 years of schooling.

All of those moments came down to this final exam. The moment her instructor said "Begin", Callie flipped over that first page and began writing down her answers as quickly as her fingers would allow. She couldn't wait to get out of there and ring her parents to tell them how she did. It wasn't until about 20 minutes into the exam she heard the classroom door creak open and flitted her gaze upwards enough to briefly see the dean walk over to her professor. She tried to focus back on her exam but the whispering between the instructor and the dean was too distracting. She looked up once more, this time her eyes locked with those of her professor and she instantly knew they were talking about her. She knew she hadn't done anything to even resemble cheating; her eyes had been focused on her exam the whole time. Plus, she didn't need to cheat; she had the highest GPA out of the whole senior class. Callie smirked to herself and got back to focusing on her test. If what the professor and dean were discussing was important they would announce it to the class. About 5 minutes later Callie heard footsteps approaching her desk. She once again looked up from her paper, this time a little more irritated at the interruption. It was then she noticed the severity of the expression adorning her professor's face and she instantly knew something was wrong.

"Ms. Torres, can you please come with me?" her professor asked as politely as his deep voice would permit.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong" Callie stated with a hint of nervousness.

"Ms. Torres I think it would do you good to come speak with myself and the dean in my office. It's something I believe you'll want to discuss in private."

Callie rolled her eyes and added an exasperated sigh as she reluctantly rose from her chair and began to follow her professor towards the door.

"Oh, what should I do with my exam? I haven't come close to finishing yet. "

"Leave the exam. If you so choose, you may finish at a later date and time."

"What do you mean 'if I so choose?' Of course I so choose. This is my final exam before I graduate and the only thing standing between me and my diploma is you and the dean with your so-called important news that clearly can't wait." Callie raised her voice as she spoke to her professor. He just continued to stare at the floor with a sullen gaze as she let him have it. The whole room was buzzing with chatter about what could be happening to the smartest student in their class. As she walked through the door, she turned around and gave the class one last glare at their hushed accusations and slowly followed the professor and dean out the door.

Callie walked through the door of the professor's office where the dean was already leaning against the desk and another familiar person stood next to him.

"Have a seat Ms. Torres" the professor gestured to the dark brown leather chair across from the desk. The dean had a ghost of a smile on his face as she sat down in front of him.

"I'd really like to get back to my exam so can we please make this quick?"

"Ms. Torres this is…"

"I know who she is. She's the student counselor. What I don't understand is why she's here if you're so hellbent on accusing me of cheating. Every grade I've earned at my 4 years in this institution I've earned on my own merit so I don't know what anyone has told you but…"

"Ms. Torres we're not going to accuse you of cheating. Mrs. Haversham is here because we asked her to supervise. We received a phone call about half an hour ago from the State Police in Florida…"

All the blood instantly drained from Callie's face. She knew what they were about to tell her. She felt sick. Her big brown eyes glazed over before they even uttered the words she was dreading to hear. Both men turned to the counselor and nodded for her to continue.

Mrs. Haversham's had always been soft spoken and this time was no different. "Callie, dear, there's been an accident…"

And in the middle of the afternoon, on the last day of exams, at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, the student with the highest GPA hit the lowest point in her life.


End file.
